24 Karat
by drakien
Summary: My cliché fluffy GS Valentine’s Day fic. (LATE!) My Organic Chem and Genetics professors can be blamed.


** Title:** 24 Karat 

**Author:** drakien

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** My cliché fluffy GS Valentine's Day fic. (LATE!)

**Author's Ramblings**: I have come to the rather distressing conclusion that until I recover from last week's aneurism-inducing episode (Unbearable), I can only produce GS fluff. Currently have 2 other real stories that I'm working out that are at a total standstill. Therefore, as a cathartic exercise, I offer up my cliché GS Valentine's Day fic. (I had originally planned to post this on Monday…you can all blame my Organic Chem and Genetics professors for its lateness). It's probably borderline out of character, because Grissom actually appears to have found his balls. Also, it is definitely written from my own little world, where either (a) the last five minutes of "Unbearable" never happened (la la la…), or (b) it was a strictly supervisory exit-interview thank-you-for-working-here kind of invite. Whatever lets me sleep at night without having multiple "Sofia dying in a heinous manner" dreams, right?

On a side note, I was casually flipping through the TV guide that comes with our Sunday paper and read the summary for this week's episode. OMG. And I quote, "The team investigates the death of the most feared man in Las Vegas, and Grissom is back in charge, much to Catherine's dismay." Maybe after 5 seasons, Grissom finally is finding those balls of his.

* * *

'Ugh,' Sara thought to herself as she passed the tacky red and pink decorations at the receptionist's desk. 'Just what I need. A holiday to commemorate just how terminally single I am.' She sighed.

After a quick stop at her locker, she made her way to the break room for a cup of coffee before Grissom showed up with assignments. Entering the room, she was surprised to find Catherine, Nick, and Warrick standing there grinning.

"Hey guys," she said. "What's up?"

"Well," Catherine drawled. "Somebody here got a Valentine's Day present!"

"Who?" Sara asked as she made her way to the coffee machine, not really interested. Catherine's reply was cut off as Greg came skidding into the room, out of breath.

"I heard Sara got a present," he said gleefully. "Did she open it yet?"

"Dude, she didn't even know she had one until you opened your mouth!" Warrick exclaimed.

"Wait a minute," Sara interrupted. "I have a present?"

Stepping aside, Nick gestured to a medium-sized rectangular box wrapped in gold foil.

"It was here when we came in," Nick said.

Sara picked up the box, looking it over as a slow smile spread across her face. Removing the lid, she pushed aside the tissue paper that filled the box. Her smile broadened. "He remembered," she murmured.

"Who remembered? And what is it?" Catherine exclaimed impatiently.

Sara wordlessly reached into the box and held up a red rose. But this rose was far from ordinary. Its petals were opened in full bloom, but were solid, and appeared to be covered in a clear polymer. The stem and the edges of each leaf and petal were covered in gold.

"Damn," Catherine breathed.

Digging further through the box, Sara found the small card nearly hidden in the folds of tissue paper. Opening it carefully, she read to herself:

_The Rose has long been a symbol of love beauty. It has been immortalized in the art literature of many cultures. It is, to the flower world, what gold has come to be in the realm of precious metals. These two timeless symbols of richness and beauty have been perfectly combined in the rose that you are holding, which has been carefully selected for you, preserved, then dipped in rich 24 kt. gold for your lifetime pleasure of enjoyment._

Below the printed text was a written message:

_The beauty of this rose pales next to yours._

_-Your Secret Admirer_

"I have a secret admirer," Sara informed her dumbstruck colleagues as she returned the note to the box and closed the lid. "Every year, for the past ten years, one of these has shown up."

"Do you have any idea who it is," Catherine wanted to know.

Sara shrugged. "Not a clue." Still in a somewhat bemused frame of mind, she re-boxed her gift and took it to her locker. 'I have a secret admirer,' she thought to herself. Still grinning, she returned to the break room, just beating Grissom there.

"Evening everyone," Grissom said as Sara sat down. "Slow night so far. Greg, if you don't mind, give Mia a hand in the lab after you get your report from that last case turned in. Sofia, you're on a decomp at the Zuccone Factory."

"Zuccone Factory? Where is that?" she asked, twirling her hair brainlessly.

"About 40 minutes west of the strip," Sara volunteered.

"Yeah," Greg added. "They make sporks."

Sofia turned up her nose. "I hate sporks."

Greg and Sara, in unison, agreed. "Me too!"

Sofia got up and left in a huff. Sara turned to Grissom. "Should we tell her about lemons?"

Grissom thought for a moment, and then replied, "I'm sure she'll figure it out."

"Well," Greg said as he got up, "I'm off. I'll drop off that report shortly, boss-man."

"Thanks Greg," Grissom said.

"Soo…" Sara drawled, "got anything for me?"

Grissom turned and eyed her speculatively. "That depends…are you susceptible to bribes?"

Sara's eyes widened. "I beg your pardon?"

Grissom sighed tiredly, then explained. "The paperwork in my office is reaching critical mass, and I could use your help." He paused, gauging her reaction, and continued in a wheedling tone. "Coincidentally, there also happens to be a respectable amount of chocolate in my office."

Sara's interest was piqued. "Good chocolate?" she clarified. "Without bugs?"

"Great chocolate," Grissom affirmed.

"Without bugs," Sara insisted.

Grissom sighed. "Handmade artesian chocolates. Made in Zürich, Switzerland, where chocolate-making has been an honored tradition for hundreds of years. The finest ingredients and more cocoa butter give them a richness not found in lesser-quality chocolates. Also, for milady's enjoyment, pure single-origin, dark chocolates. Made with the rarest cacao sourced from exclusive plantations in Venezuela, Ecuador, Trinidad and Côte d'Ivoire…a true connoisseur's delight. Finally, we have Piaboisine, an astonishing combination of pistachio from Sicily and raspberries, finished with 100 pure Ivory Coast milk chocolate." Grissom paused to take a breath, evaluating Sara's slightly astonished expression. "No bugs."

"Damn," Sara said, slightly breathless. "Just how much paperwork do you have?"

"Enough," Grissom said wryly. "What do you say?"

"For that chocolate? I think you've got yourself some help."

"Good," he said. Let's get started, then, shall we?"

* * *

Sara and Grissom exited the building, walking out to their cars.

"Thanks again for your help tonight, Sara."

"Not a problem," she replied. "Thanks for the chocolate."

Grissom nodded. He was quiet as he walked her over to her car, appearing to be deep in thought. He surprised both of them with his next question.

"So…big plans tonight?"

"Are you kidding?" she said with a grin as she leaned against her car. "I happen to have a date with one of the most handsome, romantic men in the universe!"

"Really," Grissom said, trying not to sound crestfallen. "Well, I hope you have a good time."

"Yup," Sara continued, now clearly teasing him. "Fine dining by way of pizza, and an all-night James Bond marathon on TV. Doesn't get much better than that!"

"Oh," Grissom said, secretly relieved.

"How about you? Big plans?"

"Right," Grissom chuckled. "Nah, I'm just staying in."

Sara eyed him speculatively for a moment. "At the risk of pulling another crash-and-burn, you're welcome to join me in some Ian Fleming appreciation, if you'd like." She held up a hand, stopping him before he could answer. "Just think about it. Happy Valentine's Day, Grissom."

Before he could even begin to formulate a response, she was in her car and waving as she drove off.

**  
Later…**

When she had made it, Grissom was relatively certain that Sara hadn't expected him to actually consider the offer…but he did. And so, when her doorbell rang, she was expecting it to be the pizza guy. She grabbed her purse on the way to the door, and when she opened it was still intent on finding her cash. A second later, spying and snagging a twenty, her eyes rose to meet the man holding her pizza.

"Griss?" she exclaimed.

He stood there at the threshold, unsure of his welcome. "Are, uh…you still up for company?" he asked, offering the pizza.

Shaking herself to convince her brain that this wasn't some bizarre dream, Sara recovered quickly. "Sure," she said, stepping aside and gesturing for him to enter. "C'mon in. 'Dr. No' just came on a few minutes ago."

"Thanks," he replied, stepping into her apartment. "Pizza?"

"In the kitchen," she said, pointing.

Sara followed him as he walked into the kitchen with the pizza.

"Plates are there," she said, gesturing to a cabinet. "What can I get you to drink? I've got water, root beer, and Orange Crush."

"Orange Crush?" he asked, a smirk playing around the edges of his mouth.

She sniffed defensively. "It's a timeless classic, Grissom."

"Ah," he said. "Well then, I guess I can't argue with a classic, can I?"

Sara reached into the fridge and pulled out two bottles. Turning, she saw that Grissom had two plates loaded with pizza in his hands. Smiling, she gestured toward the living room.

"Shall we?"

"Lets."

Sara led the way into the living room and plopped down on the couch; she was surprised when Grissom sat down beside her. Un-muting the TV, she passed him one of the bottles.

"Cheers," she said.

Grissom, smiling, clinked the neck of her bottle with his own. They settled back, munching on their pizza and watching 007 in companionable silence. When the movie was over, Grissom stood up to stretch. Something on one of the shelves caught his attention, and he walked over to it. On the shelf was a stand that held nine roses, lacquered and edged in gold.

"What are these?" he asked.

"Valentine's Day presents, from the past nine years," she answered. As she walked over to stand beside him, she snagged the gold box containing that days' gift. She opened it, took out the rose, and placed it with the rest.

"From someone special?"

"Yeah," she said. "You could say that, I guess. I just wish I knew who!"

* * *

Over the next few months, Sara and Grissom's relationship moved slowly forward. It was gradual, as neither one of them knew quite what to make of this new phase. However, after the initial awkwardness wore off, they settled into a comfortable partnership, working together seamlessly at the office, and spending most of their free time together. Both were happier that they could ever have guessed.

* * *

**February 14, 2006 – Valentine's Day**

"Sara," Grissom called. "You just missed the UPS guy…he dropped off a package for you."

"Huh…I don't think I was expecting anything today. Something for the lab, maybe?" she asked, curious.

Grissom shrugged. "Didn't open it. It's in my office if you'd like to pick it up before shift starts."

"Yeah, thanks."

She followed Grissom to his office, where he gestured to a nondescript brown box on the edge of his desk as he sat down. Picking it up, she turned it over, examining it.

"No return address," she murmured to herself, and pulled out her pocket-knife to cut through the packing tape. Opening the outer wrapping, she saw a gold box nested inside and smiled.

"So, anything good?" Grissom asked.

"Yeah. My secret admirer again."

She opened the box and gasped. Instead of the expected red rose, the box revealed one entirely coated in gold. With a trembling hand, she reached in for the note that she had come to expect. Lifting it out of the box, she noticed a red ribbon threaded through a heart-shaped hole in the card that ended somewhere within the tissue paper. She read.

_Will you be my Valentine forever?_  
_-Your Not-So-Secret Admirer, __Gil_

Sara was dumbstruck. She looked up at him as he walked over to her. Pulling the card from her hand, he raised it up until the end of the ribbon came out of the box. Tied to the end was a ring. The gold band held 10 small channel-set diamonds, five on either side of the center stone. The stone itself was over a carat, princess cut, and was held in place with platinum prongs. Grissom, holding the ring, dropped to one knee.

"Sara, will you marry me?"

Her thoughts were running to catch up. And then all of the pieces suddenly fell into place.

"It was you all along," she breathed, eyes wide. "You sent me the roses."

She dropped to her knees, eye to eye with him. She smiled broadly.

"Ask me again," she said.

His smile grew. "Marry me, Sara."

"Nothing would make me happier," she said as her eyes welled up.

He slid the ring on her outstretched finger, and then they were lost in a soul-shattering kiss.

**END **

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**Further A/N:** If you guys have never seen the roses talked about in the story, I would highly recommend looking them up online. Made by the 24k Rose Co. My husband gets me one every year for V-Day…makes it easy for him.

I totally live for reviews...thanks to everyone for the ones from my other fics. For those of you who are waiting, the sequel to "A Little Bit of Comfort" is in the works...barring any massive collegiate assignments, I'm hoping to have it posted sometime next week. 


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